Freyr ran at full speed.
“Haa, haa......!”
The inside of her head was spinning like a top in precession.
She had absolutely no idea about what she should do now, and how to do it.
─I’m a Beast. I was always the Demon Army. Your enemy, understand?
Then Aether told her to leave after saying that.
The friend she hadn’t seen in a long time had become an enemy.
Before she knew it, the girl who had once been human had turned into a cold and heartless monster.
The classmate who used to attend the Academy normally had now transformed into an evil person who infiltrated Iliad with the clear intention of destroying elf country.
She even threatened her, saying that she should drop out if she didn’t want to die.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Haa, haa, haa, haaah...!”
Tap, tap, ta-tap!
Freyr made it to the dorms in a single run, panting.
The first floor where the communal study room was located was full of students who were working on assignments. Freyr scented many people to locate her two friends, which didn’t take long.
Freyr walked all the way to where Lotte and Vermel were with quick steps.
“You’re here?”
Sensing her, Lotte turned around with a smile.
It was a smile fresh like new silk clothing, one that could soothe a person just by seeing it. But Freyr gasped for breath, unable to keep herself composed today.
Lotte asked in concern.
“You don’t look good. Did something happen?”
“N-no.... Nothing.......”
She responded evasively, but it seemed like she was already caught.
“It shows on your face. If something’s on your mind, then don’t hide it.”
“I-I said nothing happened. Really.......”
“Then why are you so out of breath?”
“B-because I was running!”
She hurriedly tried to give an excuse, but Lotte’s keen eyes flashed like they were looking right through her.
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“R-really.”
“You’re lying.”
“Hic!”
Freyr looked away, already scared. And the more she tried, Lotte slowly but persistently pushed her.
“You said you once hid some grapes and got them taken away because your siblings found out.”
“W-why are you saying that now...!”
“How do you expect to hide your lying when you can’t even hide a single bunch of grapes?”
“Ah.”
She froze because something about that made logical sense.
“Okay. I won’t ask about it so just sit down first.”
“Y-yeah.”
She finally calmed down and drank a whole water bottle in one go.
Her heart was still racing while her breathing was an audible wheezing that could be heard nearby.
Her hands shook like aspen as if the earlier shock still hadn’t worn off.
She put her bag down, pulled out her textbook and notebook and tried to study, but it was particularly difficult to focus on the text with her mind all scrambled.
“W-what does this mean.”
And the assignment was hard, even. She just couldn’t understand what was supposed to be done.
Anxious, Freyr brought her tail forward and slowly stroked it.
“Huu.”
It was fluffy like cotton candy and microfiber-soft.
Touching her tail seemed to help her mood a bit.
“...So, what do we do with this part?”
“You see this equation at the bottom here? Substitute it at the top and expand it all the way.”
Before long, the three of them were developing the equation and were diligently making progress on the essay assigned by the homeroom teacher.
They solved the parts they were stuck on through discussions, and when they got to the actual writing, they went through sufficient prewriting and revision so that there were no mistakes.
It was hard work, but it was fun in a way.
How much time had passed like that?
“Should we take a break here?”
“I’ll get something to drink.”
“They don’t have trays over there, no? I’ll come with you.”
While the other two were getting drinks from the café, Freyr fiddled with her pencil while racking her brain. It wasn’t because of the assignment.
─We will burn the World Tree.
She just couldn’t concentrate deeply because of being bothered by what Aether had said earlier.
Just when she thought they had finally reunited, her friend was only occupied with burning the World Tree of Verdure.
It didn’t matter whether that was possible or not.
The problem was that Aether had evil thoughts.
If it had been another Beast, she would’ve actively tried to stop them; but since Freyr knew what had happened during ‘Steam Rain’, she didn’t dare decide.
Above all, Aether was her friend; she couldn’t report a friend.
If she were to report Aether, then the Elementals would come swarming and attack her brutally. She didn’t want to see that.
Yet what if the World Tree was really burned down because she left her friend be?
“Oooh, ugh.......”
Freyr was at a crossroads.
Her forehead was warm like she had caught a fever.
Really, what should she do?
“Huu....”
As she was sighing in struggle–
“Guys.”
Vermel, who was already back with drinks, spoke up.
“This might be a bit sudden, but I have something to discuss with you.”
Hearing that, Freyr’s ears perked up.
“What is it?”
“Aether’s at this school.”
Right, of course.
Vermel was closer to Aether than expected.
They started exchanging notes one day, and at one point, there had even been rumors of them dating.
Although they may not be in an actual dating relationship or whatsit, there had definitely been some kind of friendship in the past. That would be why Aether threw herself in front of Vanta Tortus’ water cannon for him.
Freyr nodded and spoke.
“I know.”
“I know.”
And at the sound she heard from next to her, her eyes widened.
When she turned her head, Lotte was also looking at her surprise.
“You also knew?”
“You, too?”
It seemed that Lotte had also known, seeing as they had stuck to each other like sisters.
It surprised her for a moment, but wasn’t all that strange IF she thought about it.
Lotte and Aether had spent over six months together as roommates, after all.
“As I thought, you both knew.”
Vermel nodded as if he had expected their reactions and continued.
“Do you know what identity Aether is here under?”
“Our homeroom teacher.”
“Our homeroom teacher.”
Lotte and Freyr answered simultaneously.
“Honestly, it was obvious. Like her writing habits or the way she throws away some equations and such.”
“Wow.... Humans know how to observe those kinds of things?”
As she sat there inwardly impressed, Vermel desperately shook his head.
In the meantime, Lotte also waved her hands, smiling.
“No, it’s because I was tutored by her. At some point, I was able to memorize her handwriting.”
“Aha....”
“What about you, Freyr?”
“By the smell.”
“Right, you were a Youko, weren’t you.”
Freyr slightly folded her raised ears as a sign of affirmation. It was a famous gesture that only the beastkin were capable of.
“She was our classmate half a year ago, but this year she’s a professor.......”
“What in the world happened?”
Lotte asked Freyr and Vermel, her eyes showing unbridled curiosity.
Vermel asked.
“Didn’t you see the papers?”
“The papers?”
“It was on the news.”
It was then that an ‘ah’ spilled from Lotte’s mouth. Being careful between the two, Freyr spoke with a slightly lowered voice.
“Y-you see.... That was what I wanted to say earlier.......”
That Aether was in fact a Beast.
She originally wasn’t going to say it, but decided that she should at least tell Lotte, who was Aether’s best friend, so that there wouldn’t be any problems down the road. Resolute, Freyr relayed the facts.
“N-no way.”
Lotte dropped onto her chair, her complexion going dark at once.
It was news heard directly from none other than the ones who had been part of the ‘Steam Rain’.
“Sorry, but I saw it. Her blood was black. So, so.......”
Now that she was talking about it, her heart ached.
“No, you must’ve seen wrong.”
...was what Lotte muttered, her voice flat and dull.
They said that a person reacted more calmly when they were shocked, and it seemed to be true.
“I saw it, Lotte. Aether is a Beast, and part of the Demon Army, too.”
It was none other than Vermel who drove a big nail into the heart of Lotte who was staggering and barely keeping herself centered.
“Aether is here planning to burn the World Tree, with a magic called an atomic bomb.”
“Atomic, bomb.......”
“I heard from her, that she was working on that magic with you and Freyr.”
“That’s right....”
Freyr bit down on her bottom lip.
Maybe she shouldn’t have said it?
Lotte wouldn’t have know anything.... No, she did but she wouldn’t have been prepared.
Had she told her too hastily without giving her time to process it?
Her chest hurt at the thought.
But since it came to this, she shouldn’t just leave it at that.
Freyr took a deep breath.
She wasn’t talking alone right now.
Even if she was in the shadow that was Vermel Horde, it would be her duty as a friend to say what she needed and offer a solution.
“Burning the World Tree.... Even if she’s a Beast, there’s no way that Aether would do that.”
As Lotte was calmly denying behind her last defense, Freyr fired the last shot at her.
“Actually, I went to Aether earlier and heard it.”
“W-what?”
“That she would burn the World Tree. I think it’s true....”
Lotte went quiet at those words.
Lotte would also know that when Freyr lied, it showed on her face.
“.......”
She was still silent.
This was a public facility. She couldn’t even cry with sorrow or yell at Vermel. All that the girl with shoulder-length red hair could do was put her head down and be quiet.
There was a moment of silence. Neither Lotte nor Freyr knew what to say after this.
The only solution she could think of was ‘let’s all go to Aether and convince her’.
The direction was vague and she didn’t know if there was a chance that it would succeed.
And as she was racking her brain, Vermel spoke.
“I have a way.”